UAB Synopsis, Vol. 24, No. 14, April 18, 2005
Marketing the UAB Health System 2005
More than 2 million visitors logged on to the UAB Health System (UABHS) Web site in 2004. "The majority comes to our site to find a doctor or to research health information, which is why a good navigation system and rich content are critical," Debbie Hunter-Snow, director of Marketing Communications, says.
Taxonomy Improves Navigation
The UABHS Web, which currently hosts more than 9,000 pages, is managed by a content management system developed by UAB that allows multiple approved authors to contribute to and maintain the site. Currently, more than 80 authors contribute. In 2004, Marketing Communications worked with the Health System Medical Publications office to develop a taxonomy that ties the Web pages together.
"The new taxonomy allows authors to tag each page with key words so that when a visitor opens a page on a particular topic, links to related information, including UAB physician specialists, clinical services, disease-specific information, published articles, clinical trials, and events appear automatically in the left sidebar," says Susan Reid, marketing manager in the Department of Marketing Communications, who manages the site.
In addition to taxonomy development, a new design was launched last November for the UABHS consumer and referring physician sites. Research on visitor navigation patterns drove the consumer site design, and referring physician focus group research drove the physician site design. The department also worked on optimizing search engine recognition of the sites, which has doubled the number of visits each month.
Creating Interactivity
While attracting visitors to the site is a major strategic objective, creating interactivity is another important marketing goal. Interactivity is achieved through subscriptions to e-newsletters on cancer, heart disease, women's health, men's health, and general health issues. Currently, more than 3,000 individuals have signed up for these newsletters to keep current on new treatments and services UABHS provides. The department sends out over 9,000 e-newsletters each month.
Niche Markets and Live Webcasts
During 2005, Marketing Communications will continue developing new Internet sites for key service lines and niche services unique to UAB. To spotlight the new surgical facilities, live Web casts are being promoted to physicians nationally and later archived on the UABHS Web site. The referring physician's Web site, managed by Medical Publications, has launched an e-newsletter for physicians who want to learn more about the live Web casts and about new UABHS physicians and services.
Departmental Sites
"There are many benefits to hosting your Web site through the UABHS content management system," Hunter-Snow says. "Being part of the same taxonomy system automatically links your site to other UAB-related pages, increasing its visibility and access." The photo archive provides access to hundreds of photographs that can be used in building the site. Marketing Communications works with faculty and staff who wish to launch their own sites by helping them with site architecture; UAB provides a 2-hour class on authoring through the content management system. For more information on UAB Health System consumer or physician Web sites, contact Susan Reid at 934-7848, or e-mail sreid@uabmc.edu.